Life Long Learning Bursary 2024/25

Award details

Mature students are under-represented within the Brunel University London student population and as such, Brunel is committed to supporting mature students in entering higher education.

The Life Long Learning Bursary seeks to encourage mature students who might otherwise be unable to undertake Undergraduate study, to apply to and successfully complete an Undergraduate degree. The bursary is available to Home fee paying applicants who will be the age of 25 or over on the course start date, and who are beginning Undergraduate courses at Brunel University London and the Brunel Pathway College (BPC) in September 2024. Priority in allocating the award will be given to students who at the time of application are residents of the London Borough of Hillingdon, Care Leavers, or are residents in an area of deprivation (as defined by the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) 2019 Quintiles 1 and 2).

Value: Full fee waiver for each level of study. The bursary will only be paid once for each eligible level of study, subject to normal progression criteria having been met (additional payments will not be made during a repeating year, regardless of the reason for repetition).

How many: 10 bursaries are available

Application process: To be considered applicants must complete an application form, which requires a supporting statement of 250 words explaining why they would be a suitable recipient of the bursary.   Evidence of care leaver status will be required; however this can be provided after the point of application if not yet available. Full details of the evidence required can be found below in section 2(c) ‘Proof of Eligibility’.

Deadline: Applications must be submitted by midnight on the 31 July 2024 (GMT).

Applications will only be accepted if:

• All sections of the application form have been completed
• The applicant is a Home fee paying student holding an offer on a course starting in September 2024.

Late applications will not be considered.

Eligibility

To be eligible for a Life Long Learning Bursary an applicant must meet all of the following criteria:

• Be aged 25 or over on the course start date.
• Must hold an offer of a place on a Full Time Undergraduate course starting at FHEQ Level 4 (including Foundation year, Placement routes and Undergraduate Integrated Masters programmes).
• Offer must be ‘Unconditional Firm’ (UF) by the date the Scholarship Allocation Panel make their awards in October (i.e. applicant must have met all offer conditions and firmly accepted the place).
• Must commence the course in the upcoming academic year (applicants for deferred entry will be considered for a scholarship in the year they start their course and not in the year of their course application). The applicant must submit a fresh application in the year they intend to start the course.
• Have been assessed as a Home fee payer for fee purposes based on the UK government regulations. Applicants who are unsure of their fee status should note Brunel uses the information they have provided in their application form to assess fee status against regulations set by the UK government. For information on these regulations please visit the independent organisation UKCISA’s website.
• Must have submitted a completed scholarship application by the 31 July 2024 deadline. Late applications will not be considered.

Priority in allocating awards will be given on the following criteria, ranked in the following order:

• Residents of the London Borough of Hillingdon
• Care Leavers
• IMD Quintile 1
• IMD Quintile 2

Bursaries will be awarded to those who meet the eligibility criteria at the time of allocation.

Bursary holders may be requested to represent Brunel at various promotional activities throughout their time at the University. Participation is not mandatory and bursary holders may be contacted with invitations to participate in activities such as surveys, focus groups, and interviews in order to evaluate the University’s financial support package. Bursary holders will be contacted as and when participation is required. If a student chooses not to participate, their bursary award will not be affected.

Data pertaining to bursary holders such as progression rate, degree attainment, degree completion, and graduate outcome may also be analysed in order to understand the effectiveness of this bursary. This data may also be linked to other data already held by the University for the purpose of better understanding the impact of bursaries and scholarships on under-represented groups. To learn more about how the University uses data to support its commitment to delivering positive outcomes to students from under-represented groups please visit our webpage.

a) Those not eligible for this Bursary

• Applicants classed as Overseas or Channel Islands/Isle of Man for fee purposes (based on the UK government regulations), or with an unresolved fee status. For 2024/25 entry, European fee payers who are not eligible for home fees under the UK government regulations will not be eligible.
• Applicants entering a Postgraduate course at Brunel.
• Applicants who will not commence their course in the upcoming academic year - applicants holding offers for deferred entry will be considered for a bursary in the year they start their course and not in the year of their course application.
• Applicants entering a course with the Brunel Language Centre (BLC).
• Applicants entering a course at FHEQ Level 5 or FHEQ Level 6.

c) Proof of Eligibility

Mature: To evidence Mature, age data will be collected from the UCAS/UTT/Brunel application forms.

Resident of the London Borough of Hillingdon: To evidence residency in the London Borough of Hillingdon, data will be collected from the UCAS/UTT/Brunel application forms.

Care Leaver: Proof of care leaver status in the form of written documentation from the student’s local authority (corporate parent) will be required before any payment can be made.

IMD Quintiles 1 and 2: To evidence quintiles 1 and 2 of the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) data will be collected from the UCAS/UTT/Brunel application forms.

Allocation

3.1 Eligibility criteria are reviewed annually.

3.3 The University will assess each applicant that has submitted an application for the bursary against the eligibility criteria listed above and will use the information provided at the time of their course application and bursary application to do so. In the event that the number of applicants who meet the criteria exceeds the number of bursaries available, the total number of points scored using the points-weighting detailed above will be taken into consideration. In the event that there is a tie among the top ten scores a panel will consider the personal statement provided by the applicant.

3.4 Applicants are considered for bursaries using the information provided at the time of their application only and cannot be reconsidered should their circumstances change during the course of their studies. Bursaries cannot be backdated.

3.5 Applications will be considered on the balance of eligibility criteria met by each applicant.

3.6 Applicants awarded the Life Long Learning Bursary may also be eligible for the Brunel University London Bursary.

3.7 Bursary awards will be decided by the Scholarship Allocation Panel and will be responsible for producing a final list for eligible awardees.

3.8 Bursaries will be formally awarded by an awarding panel in October 2024 following receipt of exam results. Successful recipients will be informed by email shortly after allocation.

3.9 Bursary’s are awarded for the current academic year only and cannot be deferred to alternate months or years of entry. Applicants who intend to defer their studies must re-apply for a bursary in the year they will begin their studies.

3.10 Brunel University London is unable to contact all applicants who have applied for the bursary and have been unsuccessful.

3.11 The decision of the Scholarship Allocation Panel is final. Any appeals in respect of the allocation process should be referred to the admissions policy. An appeal will only be considered in line with procedural irregularities, where a student believes that the University has not followed the procedures stated within the relevant Scholarship or Bursary Terms and Conditions and there is reasonable doubt as to whether the outcome might have been different had the error not occurred. Any appeals relating to Scholarship or Bursary allocation must be lodged within the student’s first academic year at the University. Brunel will not be able to consider later appeals.

Payment

4.1 The full tuition fee will be waived each year of a full time Undergraduate course up to a maximum of four years for a full time Undergraduate course, including foundation year (or for five years of a sandwich course).

4.2 Conditions of Payment: The tuition fee will only be waived providing the student is enrolled at the University on an Undergraduate degree programme of study at the time of the payment. The fee waiver will only be applied once for each eligible level of study, subject to normal progression criteria having been met (additional fee waivers will not be made during a repeating year, regardless of the reason for repetition).

Where a student receiving a tuition fee waiver has applied for a tuition fee loan from the Student Loan Company (SLC), the SLC will be notified of the tuition fee waiver(s) in October.

Withdrawal of a scholarship

5.1 Misleading information: The University reserves the right to withdraw a bursary from anyone who is found to have misled the University about any aspect of their eligibility and to seek repayment of any monies already paid by appropriate means.

5.2 Mode of Attendance Change: If a student changes to a different mode of study, their eligibility for a bursary will be reviewed. 

5.3 Changing course and starting again at FHEQ Level 4: Students who commence their studies and subsequently make an alteration that involves starting again at FHEQ Level 4 will not be eligible for a new award against the new course. The existing bursary award will be placed on hold and reinstated once the student commences FHEQ Level 5. If a student changes course but remains at the same level of study, this will not have an impact on the award. 

5.4 Abeyance/Temporary Withdrawal: If a student who is in receipt of a bursary takes a period of temporary withdrawal (abeyance), their award will be put on hold until the student returns to complete that level of study.

5.5 Suspension of Study:  Should a student be suspended for any reason, the bursary award would be withdrawn and consideration of reinstatement will be dependent on the disciplinary outcome.

5.6 Repeat/Extended Study: Repeat periods of study, and periods of temporary withdrawal that result in extended periods of study, are not supported by additional fee waivers.  Bursary entitlement is for the maximum duration of each award and entitlement is not extended if overall course duration alters. 

5.7 Withdrawal from Study: A student who withdraws from their programme prior to completion and who is in receipt of a bursary award will not normally be requested to repay bursary payments made up to the point of withdrawal; however, entitlement to all future bursary payments and/or adjustments, cease immediately when a student withdraws from Brunel University London.

5.8 Amendment of Fee Waivers: Fee waivers applied at the start of an academic year as part/all of a bursary entitlement will not be amended once the fee waiver has been processed.

Any queries relating to these terms and conditions should be addressed to the Admissions Office by emailing: scholarships@brunel.ac.uk

Updated 15 January 2024.